Monday, February 09, 2009

Bintan - Day 3

On day 3 (which was also the last day of the holiday), I was up very early again, rather delighted that the holiday was feeling longer than it actually was. Viv was blissfully sleeping. When I came back from my shower, this is what I saw (and captured on camera).

Why was he watching TV when we should be out at the beach? What was he watching??

Ah, no wonder!

So I peeled him off the bed and dragged him to breakfast.

Breakfast was the usual 'random combinations' affair.

And I, after downing three glasses of orange juice, was a happy girl. (For the uninitiated, orange juice tends to have some 'effects' on me.)

It was a nice windy day again, and we decided to explore areas we had not covered the previous day. I found a hammock!! (Almost wanted to bring it back and take it to work on Monday.)

I like this shot of Viv I took from the hammock.

The wind plays havoc with my hair.

Can you hear it?

Viv and his 'artistic' sand shot

As we walked on the beach, suddenly he said, "Let's play sand pictionary!"

"What? You're serious?"

"Yeah! I'll draw."

And then he used a stick to draw this.

You can click on it to see a bigger version. Try to deciper!

Can't?

Well, it's 'Bunty aur Babli' (bun + tea + bubbles)!

My hair was literally all over my face and Viv was enjoying taking these ridiculous pictures.

Initially we had planned to go kayaking, but seeing how excited I had been at the jet ski the day before, Viv suggested that we go again. I couldn't contain my joy! We had not taken the camera along the last time, so this time we decided to take it.

Instead of taking the shuttle bus, we walked to the jet ski place.

On the way, we saw these elephants.

So, finally we reached the jet ski place and I just couldn't wait to get my hands on the jet ski. A very amused Viv gave me the driver's seat from the beginning itself, and I had another chance to go bonkers.

And that's when it happened.

We were going over a particularly high wave at a particularly high speed and the jet ski landed on the water with a thud and Viv landed in the water with a splash. The next thing I knew, I was falling off the jet ski.

In slow motion.

I don't know why that happened. From the time I left the ski to the time I resurfaced, everything happened very very slowly.

I have always been terrified of having my head under water. Even when I swim, I do so like a dog, with my head above the water the entire time. So when I sensed myself falling off the jet ski, I panicked. I had always wondered what happens if you just fall in the middle of the sea even if you have a life jacket. Do you get plunged into the water for long before the life jacket pulls you up? Do you 'breathe' in water and then it gets to your lungs? Do your eyes stay open? Do you panic and then never resurface?

Well, I found out the answers to all these questions.

After that one-second panic attack, I braced myself just as I hit the water and reminded myself of two things -- one, that I had a life jacket on, and two, that no matter how bad a swimmer I am, I can swim. My eyes stayed closed as I felt myself go deep into water (hoping not to bump into any large toothed sea creatures) with my breath held, and after what seemed like eternity, I pulled myself up. I'm not sure how fast the jacket worked, but I do remember very clearly pushing the water down and myself up till my head was safely above the water. It really had seemed like eternity.

I spotted Viv in the water and knowing that he knew I had gone through one of my worst fears, my first reaction above water was to yell out to him, "I'm okay! I'm okay! Are you okay?" He yelled back to say he was. He managed to get back on the jet ski (the engine had of course shut down as I had the safety valve attached to my wrist), while I felt myself being pushed further away from it by the giant waves. Another momentary panic attack and another reminder to myself that I could swim. I swam as fast as I could towards the jet ski and finally caught hold of Viv's hand. He tried to pull me up, but my hand was too slippery.

The jet ski guy had spotted our jet ski drifting on the waves without anyone on it, and had taken another jet ski to where we were. He yelled out to Viv to haul me up by my life jacket, which definitely worked better than trying to pull me by my hand. Finally, I was back on the jet ski. I wasn't hurt, but my dignity was, a little bit, at being hauled up like a tiger cub.

Anyway, Viv drove it for a while, and I just apologised to him the entire time.

"You are mad." He laughed.

"I am SO sorry, Viv! I made both of us fall. What the heck happened??"

"You just went mad, that's all." He laughed.

"Please forgive me?"

"Haha! Don't apologise. It was fun."

"It was, wasn't it????" Man, I was sick or what?

"Yep." He smiled.

Phew. I had married the right guy after all.

He was gracious enough to let me get back on the driver's seat for a final spin. The jet ski guy had granted us extra time in lieu of the fall, and so WHEEEEEEEEE I went again. At a much safer speed, and very much in control of myself.

Finally, we got back to the shore, and the jet ski guy took pictures of us on the jet ski. Wish there was one of me when I was going nuts though... perhaps a video? Darn.

But I did get a picture of my calm self on calm waters.

We went back for a shower and got all the salt out and set off for a walk around the area.

Trying to blend in with the greenery

Viv poses.

We walked back to the beach and spotted this windsurfer.

I kept clicking, while poor Viv waited impatiently.

Notice about the monsoon season...

...and the debris described in the notice.

I like this shot of Viv I took.

Nice little hut to relax

I love this picture for the angle! The tree just looks so weird.

This explains it, doesn't it?

I have to take a silhouette picture at every beach!

Playing with the waves

I was trying to capture the windsurfer between the trees.

Interesting tree

Viv gets on the hammock.

Happy hammock man

We still didn't know what that faraway structure was.

More beach shots

Finally, we returned to the resort. A small crowd had gathered near the swimming pool examining something. We went closer to see.

Komodo dragon?

A closer look

The pond outside the resort and the koi fish

A closer look at the fish

I captured this shot just as the fish jumped out of the water.

We caught the bus to go to Mayang Sari for lunch.

Buggies for rental

The orange bus that brings tourists to the resort

We passed the animal farm on the way.

Horse ranch

Shooting

Paintball

Finally we reached Mayang Sari.

Another Komodo dragon!

Over lunch, Viv proposed that we go go-karting again. He wanted me to try it out.